"Hello Rose, can't stop working?" Camille asked her.
"Yeah, guess not. Can you do me a favour? Can you tell DI Goodman I won't be going to interview Holmes with him. Alec doesn't think I should get involved any further."
"I had no idea you were going to do such a thing Rose," Camille told her, looking across at Humphrey, who was trying not to ask if she was talking about him or not.
"I was asked if I wanted to go with him but Alec pointed out a few things and he's right Camille, it could just make things worse. Can we meet on Sunday, for lunch? Bring everyone else."
Camille turned away from Humphrey. "Including the boss?" she queried, trying not to let him hear her.
"Yeah, I suppose so Camille. Fancy a drink after work though? Just you? Come over to the Paradise Hotel, I'll wait for you in the bar and dinner is on me."
"So that's where you are staying?" Camille had to smile to herself, being careful she didn't repeat it. "I'll be over around six then?"
"Yeah, we can catch up."
Rose then drove to the rental agency and handed the keys over, even though there was still another three weeks to go but she had to explain she was going home. Then she drove to the hotel and once in her room, called Alec again. Alec had told Pete he wanted to go ahead with their plan and that Jake would collect him on Sunday morning.
"She's not called me with a time yet," Pete had told him. "I expect she'll call her mother and let her know. What time does she arrive?"
"Around eight on Monday morning so if you are collecting her, I'd like to go with you, to surprise her. It will remind her of when she met me at the airport when I arrived on the island."
"She'd get more of a surprise if you were waiting at the house Alec, think about it," Pete told him.
"I will think it over then. I advised her not to remain involved with the case, Goodman wanted her to interview Holmes with him but I talked her out of it. I've never met the man but I think Rose is having a problem with him."
"In what way?" Pete had asked him.
"In a way I don't like which is why I told her not to go to that interview with him, I think he was trying to make a move on her. He must have known she was working there and he got there a little too fast for my liking, as I said to you before. Did you find anything out about him?"
"Not yet, Jake's on it. Oh, let him have your bank details, he'll give you the cost of the hotel and caravan back."
"Thanks for all you are doing Pete. Have you located a clinic yet?"
"Yes, my secretary had some success. There is one willing to take you at a day's notice and they will send for your records. They'll be no delay, you'll be seen when you call to confirm."
"Good, I'll tell Rose when she calls again but if she does ask you, I'm not having it done in London, she thinks she is coming down here."
"I won't give the game away Alec, you know that. See you on Sunday and anything else, just call."
Alec was just finishing a pot of tea he'd had Becca make for him in the bar after his evening meal when Rose called him.
"I hope you called off that interview Rose?" he asked when he had greeted her.
"Yeah, I took your advice. Well, I'm almost done over here, just tomorrow to get through and Sunday I'm meeting everyone for a farewell lunch. Camille's coming over to the hotel later, we have a few things to talk about."
"I just bet you do? Would that include talking about me or her new boss?"
"Jealous lover?" Rose giggled.
"Yes, has he been bothering you Rose?"
"Yeah a bit but I keep talking about you all the time. He doesn't seem to get the message though, he even paid me a visit this morning, I wasn't gonna tell ya."
"You should have done. Was your housekeeper there?"
"Yeah, thankfully. Don't worry, I made it clear to him."
Well she at least hoped she had because the last thing she wanted was to have him come and find her, she had a feeling he could be very persistent which was probably why he was divorced. Alec was divorced but he'd been on his own for a lot longer but was his coming here any different? Maybe not but she'd been instantly attracted to Alec although possibly for the wrong reasons but he'd accepted who he looked like.
She wasn't keen on him going to meet her in London, just in case Pete decided to tell him a bit more than she wanted him to know but Alec had to learn a few things about her if they were going to live together. Considering he'd accepted he looked like someone from her past, he would probably easily accept the rest if Pete didn't mention what was different about the Doctor. It had been well rehearsed what he would tell anyone she fell in love with.
Just before six, Rose was waiting for Camille to join her but Camille was a little annoyed Humphrey was asking her questions and she didn't want to be rude to him well not enough to get her fired.
"So, you're going to meet Rose then?" he'd asked her as they went to interview Holmes at the prison.
"Yes, we have been friends since she arrived Sir, I will miss her when she goes home. Why do you want to speak to Holmes?"
"I've not had the chance yet, I have a few questions for him," he'd told her as he rummaged in his pocket for a scrap of paper. "Some things don't add up Camille."
"What sort of things?" she wanted to know. "He's guilty, end of story. He had a connection with Richard, it's been proved and when we get that information you sent for, you won't have any doubts."
"I'm not saying I have doubts Camille, I just don't understand why he came all the way over here to kill the inspector. Maybe it was a spur of the moment thing, when Holmes was confronted and he just snapped?"
"Okay then, say it was? I think they'd met when Holmes first arrived and Richard warned him not to try anything here. I'm not sure if Holmes knew he was here or not though, maybe it was just a coincidence?"
"That's what I want to find out Camille, if he had a motive or he'd finally had enough of Poole arresting him but why now? Why not when Poole was over in England?"
"Maybe he didn't know Richard was back, he did go over unexpectedly on a case and if Holmes thought he'd got rid of him? What has Holmes been doing?"
"That's what I was trying to find out Camille," Humphrey smiled as they showed their ID at the prison reception desk.
Rose greeted her friend as Camille joined her in the bar.
"Had a busy day?" Camille asked her.
"Yeah, getting things arranged, I wish I could have got an earlier flight."
"Then why didn't you? It's not like you can't afford to pay extra," Camille smiled as their drinks arrived.
"I tried Camille, trust me but I could only get one by changing planes, it's a popular route. I even tried to get one from St Barts, like Alec did but that was going to Bristol. Mind you, that's not far from Broadchurch, I could hire a car to get me there then leave it in London, go see Alec first. Thanks Camille, I never thought of that, I had planned going home first. I think I'll change it and surprise Alec on Sunday, I'll see if it gets me there at a decent time, I never asked for details."
Alec thought he had everything planned, he was getting the keys for the caravan the following afternoon and he'd spend the night there then wait for Jake to arrive around ten. Once he found out where he'd been allocated, he'd text Jake and Rose, since he had to keep up the pretence he was going to wait there for her arrival. She would get a pleasant surprise when she arrived home to find him there.
The next morning, Rose drove out to the airport rather than argue on the phone about her change of plans.
"You said on the phone there was a flight to Bristol tonight," Rose told the man behind the desk.
"I'll just check again Miss Tyler, it may now be full but you will have to change at St Barts."
"I don't care about that, I'll change if I have to. So, what time does it leave?"
Pleased with herself, she bought a coffee and called Alec, not planning on telling him.
"Hi Alec, whatcha doing?" she asked as he greeted her.
"Waiting to get the caravan keys, where are you, it sounds noisy."
"Oh I went to pick up my plane ticket so it would give me something to do and make me think I was closer to going home. I miss you Alec."
Well she had just been handed a plane ticket to Bristol airport so she was going to have a rental car waiting for her on her arrival around 9am and she should be in Broadchurch an hour or so later, all being well. She was gaining an extra day.
"I will text you the caravan number later love," he told her as he sat in the outdoor caf opposite the police station.
He'd given up his room at the hotel since he only had a case and a holdall and he could wait around until they phoned him to say he could get the keys early if it was ready so just as he'd been leaving the hotel, they had said he could get them after twelve noon. He was also waiting for Rose's call and wanting to tell her his plans but had to resist spoiling the surprise. He got up and went to the park office and decided to unpack for now and get what he needed ready for the next day.
Rose then went to find Camille and tell her she was leaving a day earlier. Camille though was out as Rose walked into the police station and only Humphrey and JC were there.
"Hello Rose, looking for Camille?" JC asked her as Humphrey looked up.
"Yeah, will she be back soon?" Rose asked hopefully.
"I'm sure she will," Humphrey told her, getting up. "Is it something urgent?"
"Well yeah, I leave tonight, I decided to take a different route back, I save a day's wait."
Humphrey had been looking forward to lunch with her the next day even though everyone else would be there. It was his last chance to maybe persuade her to stay but now, his hopes were dashed and Alec Hardy had won. Rose was about to leave, thinking she would catch up with Camille later but she had to be at the airport by six to fly the short distance for her connecting plane. She was about to leave when Camille came back in with Dwayne.
"What are you doing here Rose?" Camille asked her.
"I'm leaving soon, I came to say goodbye to you all, well at least until we get a court date."
"Ah, we might have some news on that," Humphrey told her, picking up a folder. "We got nothing much out of Holmes yesterday, he was still complaining that you were unfairly interviewing him but his solicitor wants to go for an early trial to clear his client's name."
"What?" Rose asked. "Oh, I see what he's trying to do, not give us chance to find out his connection to Richard," Rose stated.
"Ah but we do," Humphrey told her. "I just got this back while you were out Camille, Holmes had been busy after DI Poole's departure and as before, no-one could prove anything but the last time, a few days before he came here, a witness came forward."
"Then why didn't they tell us before?" Camille asked him.
"We weren't asking that Camille," Rose reminded her.
"No, the witness came forward and when they went looking for Holmes, he'd disappeared, he must have been on his way here," Humphrey told them. "Maybe him coming here wasn't out of revenge or he didn't know Poole was here and thought since he was, he may as well get rid of him. The witness identified Holmes but since he'd left the country and no-one knew where he was, no warrant was issued for his arrest."
"That's a bit slack," Rose commented. "Why not?"
"The same as what was said, until now they had no proof it was him and since he didn't get away with much, the jewellery store just claimed on the insurance. That's his M.O, sometimes he gets a lot, sometimes very little and never leaves any witnesses but the girlfriend of one of the assistants was waiting outside, she clearly saw Holmes going in and coming out with a carrier bag. When she went inside, her boyfriend had been injured. She didn't come forward because the store has a policy of no friends or relatives and she didn't want to get her boyfriend fired," Humphrey told them.
"So if we can prove to the judge he's been identified back in Croydon it should be enough?" Rose asked. "Does his solicitor know?"
"I've just got the information Rose, let him do his own work eh?" Humphrey grinned. "So, we can't persuade you to stay?"
Rose shook her head. "I've already changed my plans. I'll go home, let Alec get his surgery and we'll both come back."
That was not what Humphrey wanted to hear. Yes, he knew she'd come back but he thought Hardy wouldn't bother but he should have known she wouldn't return on her own.
"Will you let me know as soon as there's a court date?" Rose asked.
"We'll give you plenty of warning Rose," Camille told her.
"Well Alec can have his surgery early next week so as long as it's after he's able to travel," Rose told her. "It won't been sooner than that, there's still things to clear up."
"We've done most of it," Dwayne told her. "We've not been idle you know," he joked.
"Never said you had been Dwayne," Rose laughed. "If you can get away for lunch, it's on me, I'll wait for you at Catherine's."
Rose went off and waited for them in the bar, Catherine coming over to talk to her.
"Ready for home?" she asked Rose.
"Yeah, I leave in a few hours, I got an earlier flight home but I've not told Alec, I want to surprise him."
"I think you can't wait to get home to see him," Catherine smiled.
The others joined her, locking the police station for an hour and they all said their goodbyes, Camille wanting to be the last but Humphrey was still there. Rose knew why.
"Can you give me a minute Camille?" Rose asked.
"Sure, I will wait at the bar with my mother," Camille replied, looking directly at Humphrey
When Camille went off, Humphrey tried not to look so obvious.
"Can we get one thing straight?" Rose asked him. "When I come back, Alec will be with me and trust me, he'll be well again so maybe you should just accept the fact that I'm spoken for and no amount of you dropping hints about me staying will change my mind about him. Are we clear?"
Humphrey nodded. "I get it, sorry but you can't blame me for trying, what man wouldn't if he knew who you were?"
"I'm used to it but you went a bit too far, Alec won't be so forgiving, trust me."
"I can only imagine but when I found out you were here, I saw my chance of getting to know you."
"Even when I was talking about him and saying I wanted to go home? You expect me to believe that?" Rose asked him, seeing Camille glancing over. "I'm leaving in a few hours so get any ideas of keeping me here out of your head or Alec won't be pleased. He's coming back to testify that Holmes tried to kidnap me, right in front of him and that he was also threatened. Hopefully with that and the reports from Croydon that he's been identified will put him away. Now excuse me while I say goodbye to my friend."
Rose got up and went to join Camille.
"I should get back to work," Camille told her. "See you and Alec in a few weeks or so then and wish him all the best with his surgery."
Rose gave her a hug. "Thanks Camille, you've been a good friend and I forgive you for trying to set me up on dates. Do something with him will ya?" she asked as Humphrey passed them.
"I make no promises my friend, go on, get yourself ready to leave."
A few hours later, Rose had checked into the airport after handing her rental car back and had received confirmation a car would be waiting for her at Bristol airport on her arrival. She got herself a drink before her shorter flight took off and had already got a text from Alec with the caravan details so she called Pete.
"Change of plans Dad, I'm coming home tonight, I'll be landing in Bristol tomorrow morning then I'll drive down to Broadchurch."
"You're on your way?" he asked, wondering how he could avoid revealing his and Alec's plan.
"Well I thought ya'd be pleased?"
"I am love, have you told Alec though?" Pete wanted to know.
"Nope and don't you go calling him either, I want to surprise him. I have to go catch my first plane, I'll spend the day with Alec then I'll drive him up to London, depending on when his surgery is scheduled."
All Pete could do was call Jake and tell him to still collect Alec.
"You're kidding me," Jake told him at the news Rose was a day early. "So what do I do? Alec's expecting to set off as soon as I get there."
"Well delay him, tell him you're caught in traffic or something and don't actually set off."
"He's a detective, he'll know I'm stalling Pete. What time does she land at Bristol?" Jake asked him.
"She never said, she had to catch her first plane so call the airport and see what time the flight from St Barts lands in the morning. Well you'll have to go down and meet him but suggest you go get a drink and something to eat, that should appease him," Pete suggested.
"Yeah, he might believe that but it'll only give me forty minutes tops then I'll have to set off," Jake told him.
"Well you'd best hope she turns up because if he's not at the caravan, she'll call him to find out where he is and if you're on the motorway?"
"Yeah, I get it Pete, I'll have to either turn back or wait somewhere for her. I wish she wouldn't do things like that."
"So do I Jake, so do I. Now I have to warn her mother because Rose was supposed to be coming directly here."
"Well rather you than me Boss," Jake laughed.